
Pelly River at Pelly Crossing
The 'Pelly River' is a river in
Canada, and is a headstream of the
Yukon River. The river originates west of the
Mackenzie Mountains flows 530 km long through the south central
Yukon. The Pelly has two main
tributaries, the
Ross and
Macmillan rivers.
The Yukon communities of
Ross River,
Faro and
Pelly Crossing are all on the Pelly River. There are bridges across the Pelly in Pelly Crossing (where it crosses the
Klondike Highway) and in Faro, as well as a
cable ferry at Ross River on the
Canol Road. The restored
Hudson's Bay Company trading post of
Fort Selkirk is at the juncture of the Pelly and Yukon Rivers.
The river was named in honour of Sir
John Henry Pelly, governor of the
Hudson's Bay Company by
Robert Campbell.
Hazards
Volcanoes near the Pelly River, sush as
Volcano Mountain, may have once partly blocked or at least alterd the Pelly River. Any future activity in this area could disrupt the cource of the river and could have have a serious impacts on people living or working downstream.